In
a statement delivered to the Hollywood Reporter, spokeswoman Amanda
Silverman pointed to Brunei's "horrific anti-women and anti-LGBT"
policies when explaining Legend's decision to drop out of the
celebration.

"These policies, which among other things could
permit women and LGBT Bruneians to be stoned to death, are heinous and
certainly don't represent John's values or the spirit of the event," the
statement read. "John does not, in any way, wish to further enrich the
Sultan while he continues to enforce these brutal laws."

Meanwhile, Alison Miller, L.A. Confidential's publisher, argued that the magazine "is an avid supporter of equal rights
for all people," and that the publication's decision to throw the party
in the Beverly Hills Hotel's Crystal Ballroom "in no way suggests that
we support any anti-human rights policies."

The Beverly Hills Hotel is part of the Dorchester Collection, a Brunei-owned luxury hotel chain whose U.S. properties also include the Hotel Bel-Air.

Legend
now joins a growing list of stars and media personalities who have
publicly expressed their distaste for the hotel chain in the wake of Brunei's penal code,
which also names rape, adultery, extramarital sexual relations and
declaring oneself a prophet in its capital punishment regulations. Ellen DeGeneres, Anna Wintour, Stephen Fry and Jay Leno
are just a few of the other bold-faced names who have vowed not to
visit the Beverly Hills Hotel or other hotels in the Dorchester
Collection amid the controversy.

Last year, a Dorchester spokesperson released a statement to WWD saying that officials at the individual hotels had "no involvement in this religious and political issue.”

“We
continue to abide by the laws of the countries we operate in and do not
tolerate any form of discrimination of any kind," the spokesperson
added, according to the report. "The laws that exist in other countries
outside of where Dorchester Collection operates do not affect the
policies that govern how we run our hotels."